Insects are what make the agricultural systems in the United States and elsewhere in the Western world go ‘round. In particular, our food system relies on the Western honeybee, the most common species of honeybee worldwide. These honeybees’ most profitable and important work isn’t making honey—it’s pollinating crops such as apples in New York, cherries in Washington, squash and pumpkins in the Midwest, cranberries in Massachusetts, and blueberries in Maine. “We have a lot of great native pollinators,” says Associate Professor of Chemistry Bill Collins. “We have about two hundred fifty species of bumblebees here in North America."